Does anyone remember when Hunter Renfrow finished as a top-12 wide receiver a few years ago? After a fall from grace and a brief stint out of the NFL, the 29-year-old has earned a role with the Carolina Panthers in one of the most intriguing professional comeback stories in recent memory. With first-round rookie wideout Tetairoa McMillan dealing with a calf injury, the door for Renfrow to see more opportunities could open as soon as Week 4.
If that’s the case and McMillan is indeed too hurt to play, is Renfrow a fantasy football sleeper WR who could pop off with a big game?
Is Hunter Renfrow a fantasy football sleeper?
Renfrow, a former fifth-round pick by the Raiders in the 2019 NFL Draft, carved out a useful role as a slot receiver during his first few seasons in the league. He averaged 10.3 FPPG as a rookie before a true breakout year as the WR11 with 15.2 FPPG in 2021, but he struggled with injuries over the following couple of years and spent 2024 out of the professional game entirely while dealing with an ulcerative colitis diagnosis. During that time, he worked as an ambassador for a recycling company in South Carolina, but he clearly kept in football shape in hopes of an NFL comeback.
That opportunity came with the Panthers when he signed with the team in April. A casualty of the cut down to the 53-man roster back in August, Renfrow signed back to the active roster once fellow wideout Jalen Coker went on IR with a quad issue just before the 2025 season began.
Renfrow’s Week 1 was unimpressive with just two receptions for 11 yards on six targets. However, the veteran soaked up plenty of receptions in Week 2 with seven catches for 48 yards and two touchdowns on his nine total targets. While the two scores propped up his fantasy day of 23.8 PPR points, he earned some waiver-wire appeal after the performance. Following a 2.6-point outing last week though, Renfrow may once again have landed in the free-agent pool in many fantasy football leagues.
Ahead of Week 4, rookie sensation McMillan (calf) and second-year wideout Xavier Legette (hamstring) didn’t practice on Wednesday. Both are considered day-to-day with their respective injuries. If one of them doesn’t play, Renfrow could earn a couple of extra looks, but a potential absence for McMillan would lead to an even larger share of available targets. With David Moore and Jimmy Horn Jr. the next players on the depth chart, Renfrow would clearly have a leg up on those two as a target-earner and reliable chain-mover out of the slot. Of course, his upside depends on either a large share of opportunities in PPR formats or a trip to the end zone, but in a thin wide receiver room, the volume for fantasy football success could be there.
If McMillan and Legette play, Renfrow looks like a shaky option for fantasy football lineups. However, if either of those players miss time then he becomes a very viable FLEX option for Week 4 in a matchup against the Patriots, a team which falls 29th in passing yards allowed and 30th in defensive EPA/pass. If he’s available in your league, Renfrow looks like a solid speculative stash with some upside this week.
